Next time you order Chinese food for delivery, don’t throw out that extra carton of rice they give you. You can make omelets with it. I definitely thought this was a screwy-sounding idea until I tried it. Omuraisu, as the dish is called, is Japanese home cooking at its best. You dump the leftover starch in a hot pan, as you would for fried rice, season it with a salty-sweet sauce you’ll want to bottle, then fold it all up in a thin, fluffy egg wrapper. The filling can be made with any day-old cooked rice and enjoyed on its own, but I encourage you to follow the recipe through to the end: I promise this omelet is a bundle of joy.

Directions

Heat the miso, maple syrup,
ketchup, and soy sauce together
in a small saucepan over
medium-low heat, stirring constantly
to combine, until smooth,
2 to 3 minutes. Watch closely, as
it can burn quickly. Remove pan
from the heat.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet on
the stove, gradually increasing
the heat from low to medium.
Add the sausage and sauté,
stirring occasionally, until it’s
crisp and the fat has been rendered,
about 5 minutes. Add the
onion and sauté just until soft
and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the rice, using a wooden
spoon to break it up, and combine
the ingredients. Cook until
heated through, 2 to 3 minutes,
then stir in 3 tablespoons of the
sauce to incorporate. Season
with pepper. Transfer the rice
to a medium bowl and stir in the basil.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat
together the eggs, crème fraîche,
and a generous pinch of salt and
pepper. Transfer the mixture
to a spouted measuring cup.
Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in an
8-inch skillet over medium-high
heat. When the oil is shimmering,
pour in one-fourth of the
egg mixture (about ⅓ cup). As
the eggs begin to set, tilt the pan
toward you and, using a spatula,
lift the edges of the omelet so
any uncooked egg can run underneath.
Next, tilt the pan away
from you. Repeat this tilting and
lifting, back and forth, until the
omelet is set but still slightly
runny on top, about 2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat
and gently slide the omelet out
flat onto a plate. Line half of
the omelet with one-fourth of
the rice mixture, then fold the
empty half over the filling to
form a half-moon.

Repeat to make 3 more omelets,
using the rest of the oil and egg-
and-rice mixtures as above, and
plating each separately. Wipe
the pan clean between omelets.
Drizzle some of the remaining
sauce over each omelet, garnish
with the fresh herbs, and serve.